The Piano Girl
by eleanorr
Summary: When River and The Doctor get back to the Tardis, a strange girl has somehow appeared there. While trying to get her home, a surprising connection between the girl and the Doctor is discovered. In the Alternate Universe, Rose Tyler finds out she is pregnant, something for which she was not prepared.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's note: **

**Dear readers,**

**I know I have abandoned this story in the past and I'm really really sorry. I know it's a shitty excuse, but I've been really busy. However, I am determined to finish this story. I'm going to edit and re-write every chapter so far, and then I'm going to write the final chapter. I hope you will all have patience with me while I do this. When I started this story, I hadn't been writing regularly before that. I have spent a lot more time writing stories in the two years that passed, and I want to apply what I've learned to the chapters of this story. I don't want to finish a clunky story that makes me cringe when I read it now. **

**I want to thank you for the reviews I have received so far. They really do make my day, so please don't stop. I love getting feedback! I LOVE it. **

**I'm not a native speaker of English, so please keep that in mind while reading the story. Spelling and pragmatics can be really hard for me. Sometimes I use words that are typically used in the US even though this story is set in the UK. I don't know any better and I'm sorry about that. ;) **

**Well then: here it is. The first revised chapter of ****_The Piano Girl. _****I hope you'll enjoy it, and if you do, please leave a review.**

**Love, Eleanor**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who or any of its characters, settings or plots. **

1.

It had been a great day. The Doctor had decided to spend the day with River. He had picked her up from her cell, and he had taken her to the Brighton Pier when it opened in 1899. They had had a picnic on the beach and laughed at strangers' stares at their 'odd' clothing. They had gone back to the Tardis in the late afternoon, planning to find a nice place to have dinner… Paris maybe?

He loved spending the day together, just the two of them. However, when they got back to the Tardis, it turned out the day was not going to end according to plan. Nothing ever did.

The Doctor snapped his fingers as they approached the Tardis, and they could hear music drifting through the opened blue doors. This was a bit strange, but he didn't think too much of it. The Tardis could play music. She'd done it before. Maybe she'd gotten bored, and had turned on some music for her own enjoyment. He'd never seen that happen before, but then again, there's a first time for everything.

When the two of them entered the Tardis, it turned out that this wasn't what was going on. The music didn't seem to come from the control room at all. One of the doors that led to the hallways was slightly opened. Walking over to the door, River following in his footstep, he could see through the gap. The hallway seemed to have vanished; instead, there was a sort of room, with natural light, grey walls and a wooden floor. He looked over his shoulder at River, who was just as surprised as him.

Suddenly, it dawned on him that the music wasn't a recording. It wasn't perfect. Every now and then, there would be a small mistake, a wrong note, and the player would stop for a fraction of a second before continuing. Also, the piano was slightly off-key.

This led him to believe that there was an _actual live piano player_, who had somehow entered his ship, and who was now playing a piano in a room that had not been there before. Burning with curiosity, the Doctor opened the door a little further, as quietly as possible so as not to disturb the pianist. He peered round the door. To his surprise, his eyes found a girl sitting on the piano bench, her back towards him. There was an upright piano pushed against the wall opposite the door. It had the same colour as the wooden floor.

River popped up beside the Doctor, dying to find out what was going on. She turned her head sharply towards him when she saw the girl. He could read the questions in her eyes, but he didn't want the girl to know they were there just yet, so he didn't say anything.

Instead, he turned his gaze back to the girl. She was wearing black tights, black trainers, a black cardigan and a black skirt with pink flowers. She had thick blond hair that fell just past her shoulders and a fair skin. Even though he could not see her face, somehow she reminded him of someone. He didn't know what it was. Her posture? The colour of her hair? He felt like he'd seen her before, like he recognised her, but couldn't remember when and where.

The music she played was quite beautiful. It was a not a complex melody, but it had a certain charm in its simplicity. He didn't recognize it, and he didn't see any sheet music on the piano. The melody drifted to a close, the final chord resonating through the strange room. The girl, still oblivious to River and the Doctor standing behind her, reached for a green mug placed on the piano, only to discover it was empty. She stood up from the bench and turned around, noticing them for the first time.

Her face lost the little colour it had, and she seemed too surprised to say anything. The Doctor studied her face. He hadn't seen it before, he was sure of that. Still, he felt that same feeling of recognition while he looked at her. She had dark eyebrows and big brown eyes. They contrasted oddly with her pale hair and skin.

The girl took a few steps backwards. 'You gave me a fright!' she said shakily. 'Who are you?'

'Who are _you_?' retorted the Doctor. 'What are you doing here?'

'What do you mean? You are in _my_ house!' the girl exclaimed.

'Actually, your house seems to be in my house. Or part of it, at least.'

The girl looked at him in utter confusion. 'I don't understand.'

The Doctor opened the door further and to a few steps back. He took River's hand and pulled her back as well. The girl could now clearly see the control room, and, assuming she did not have a control room in her home, would be convinced part of her house had moved.

The girl stepped out of her piano room, and looked around the control room, shock washing over her face.

'Where… how… how… Where are my parents? They were in the kitchen! There were sitting just here, in the kitchen, and now they're gone! Where's the kitchen? What have you done to my house? And what have you done to my parents?'

'I don't know what happened! I didn't do anything!' the Doctor answered. 'I wasn't even here. You and your piano just sort of popped up in my ship. It wasn't my fault.'

As he said that, the door to the piano room closed with a loud bang.

'I'm sorry, I must have left the window open,' the girl said. The Doctor couldn't help but laugh at her automatic apology, which seemed so strange under the circumstances. The girl turned around and opened the door. She froze. The Doctor looked over her head to see what had happened. The room had vanished again, and the space behind the door had turned back into he hallway it used to be.

'How did that happen?' The girl didn't sound distressed, but curious. He saw a sense of wonder in her eyes, and she seemed genuinely interested in how such a thing could happen. Again, she reminded him of someone, but he couldn't remember whom.

'Doctor, what's going on?' River said under her breath.

'All right,' he said decidedly, and he paced away from the girl and the door. 'Let's figure this out. First things first: what's your name?'

'Immy,' the girl said. She cleared her throat. 'I'm Immy.'

'Immy… That's a lovely name! Sounds cheerful. Well, I'm the Doctor and this is River.'

'Hello!' River said, smiling at the girl.

'From your point of view, what physically happened?' the Doctor continued. 'What happened when you came here?'

'Nothing happened. I was just home, playing the piano, and suddenly you two were standing in my piano room and the rest of the house had vanished. I hope my parents are okay…'

'I'm sure they are,' the Doctor said, even though there was of course no way of knowing for sure. 'If you tell me were you live, I can get you home.'

'Yeah, okay…' Immy followed the Doctor to the console and told him her address.

He typed it in. 'Are you sure that's correct?'

'Of course I'm sure! What idiot can't remember their own address?' she spurted, highly affronted.

'It's just… The Tardis says it doesn't exist.'


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's note:**

**I hope you have enjoyed reading the first chapter. If you've read my story before, you'll know that the basic elements of the story have remained the same. I'm not planning on changing the story itself, just the way I wrote it. I hope you'll enjoy my revised version of the second chapter. If you do, please leave a review!**

2.

Rose looked at the tiny little plus sign in horror. She had not planned _this. _She had not wanted _this. _She was not ready for _this. _

She stupid little stick must have gotten it wrong. There was no way that she could be… She couldn't even think the dreaded word. She picked up the blue-and-white pregnancy test and threw it in the bin, planning on taking another test later, which would surely tell her that she was not actually pregnant.

She left the bathroom and walked back to the bedroom to get dressed. The Doctor was still sleeping, so she didn't turn the lights on. She felt frustrated and nervous. What if the stick was right? She shook her head. It couldn't be.

She made a cup of tea for herself in the kitchen. It soothed her, and it also meant that she would have to pee in an hour or so. Then she would be able to take another test. She leaned against the counter and ate a slice of toast. The clock on the other side of the kitchen ticked loudly. It was only 6:15, and it was a Saturday. She wouldn't have woken up this early if she hadn't been nauseous in the first place. Irritation burned in the pit of her stomach. This was ridiculous. The only reason she was feeling nauseous was because she was nervous, and now she was nervous because she was nauseous. It was all a vicious circle, and she was sure there was a logical explanation. Just not the one the stupid stick had told her this morning.

Rose threw the crust of her toast in the bin as she left the kitchen and walked back to the bathroom. She didn't really need to pee, but she was tired of waiting around. She took the pregnancy test and used it. The box said to wait two minutes before looking, so she placed it on the sink and brushed her teeth.

Her mind wandered back to the night it happened. It had only been the second week after the real Doctor had left the both of them in the alternate universe. Things were a bit awkward. She liked him, but she was confused and scared and didn't know what to do. She couldn't shake the feeling that he wasn't _real, _that he was not the same man. One night, he suggested that the two of them go to a pub together. _Why not, _she had thought, _might be fun._

After that, things were a bit fuzzy. Rose didn't remember much, but she supposed it _had_ been fun, because they had ended up in bed together. They had had far too much to drink and she didn't even remember how they got home. There were only flashes. She had been worried when she woke up, but the empty condom wrapper on the bedside table had reassured her enough not to think about it any more.

They hadn't talked about that night the following days. They did start sleeping in the same bed however, though they were taking things slowly. That was why it came as a total surprise when her period did not come. Or the month after that.

First she thought it might be because she had travelled between universes that month. Maybe that could cause you to miss your period. Maybe that did something to your body that caused some sort of hormonal imbalance. She didn't know, and she didn't want to ask. It wasn't abnormal to miss one period, was it? When she missed the second one, she grew worried. That was when she decided to buy a pregnancy test. Or three.

Two minutes had passed. Rose spit out the toothpaste and rinsed her mouth. She took a deep breath and looked at the little stick on the rim of the sink. A little plus sign stared back at her. Nervous tingling bubbled up through her body. It was strange how such an insignificant little symbol could completely change your life. She felt sick with worry and dread. She would have to tell him. The Doctor. She would have to tell him. And her mother, and Pete… What would they think? She felt so stupid. She wanted to cry.

She gagged. Okay, so it wasn't just worry and dread. She was _actually _feeling sick. She turned around, fell to her knees in front of the toilet and saw her breakfast for the second time that morning. She tried to spit the saliva out of her mouth, to get rid of that awful taste. She flushed the toilet, grabbed the cup from the sink and rinsed her mouth thoroughly.

How could this have happened? They had used protection, hadn't they? At least, she thought they had. She'd seen the condom wrapper, but she couldn't remember actually using one. Anything might've happened. Anything could've gone wrong.

There was a soft knock on the door. 'Rose? Are you okay? Did you… Did you just vomit?' He cleared his throat. 'I heard some weird noises.'

She sighed. She had to tell him, the sooner the better. If this… _pregnancy _had happened on the night she thought it had, it meant that she was almost three months pregnant. She had to tell him.

Rose stared at herself in the mirror. She hadn't been crying. Good. She didn't want to look like she had had some sort of emotional breakdown. She could handle this. She could be strong. She had to. She was a mother now.

She unlocked the door and looked at him, the pregnancy still in her hand. She took his hand and placed the stick inside it. 'I'm pregnant,' she said quietly. 'I'm sorry.'

'You're pregnant?' he said, looking at her in disbelief. 'But… That's great! Right? Kids are great! Why'd you say you were sorry?'

'Think about it! Kids are expensive! We don't have that kind of money. We live in a tiny flat. We've only really been together for what? One month? Two?'

'Yeah, but when the baby is born we'll have been together for almost a year!'

'I'm only 22!' Rose cried, annoyed by his enthusiasm. 'And I'm the only one with a job! How are we going to pay for diapers, and clothes, and food, and… and…'

'Oh, Rose, it's gonna be all right,' he said and he wrapped his arms around her. Rose pressed her face to his chest. Her angry tears made two round spots on the shirt he had been using as pyjamas. He stroked her hair. 'We'll make this work,' he whispered, and planted a kiss on the top of her head.


	3. Chapter 3

3.

'What do you mean, it doesn't exist?' Immy asked in disbelief. 'I _live_ there. Of course it exists!'

'I believe you, but look,' the Doctor answered, and he pointed to the monitor. '_Location not found. _The Tardis can't go there if she can't find it.'

'I don't understand a word of what you're saying! What is a Tardis? I thought this was your house! Now that I come to think about it, this is a really weird room to have in your house… Where am I?' She looked shocked that she hadn't noticed this before.

'This _is _my house. Sort of,' the Doctor answered. 'It's a space ship and it can go anywhere in space and time, _but it does need to find the location. _And that's the problem here.'

'This is so stupid. If we had a car, we could just drive there. Where are we, anyway?'

'Brighton, 1899.'

'What? 1899?'

'I did say anywhere in space and time, didn't I?'

'What year are you from?' River asked. 'Hmm… Early 21st century?'

Immy nodded. '2024. If this ship can go anywhere, can't we just go to Cardiff and walk the rest of the way? I mean, Cardiff is still there, right?'

'It's worth a shot,' River said.

'Fine. Cardiff it is.' The Doctor started pushing buttons, and River joined him.

'Hold on tight!'

After only a few seconds, the Doctor ran to the door and opened it. Immy stepped outside. She turned around curiously to take a look at the spaceship, because she had never seen one before. She only saw a small wooden box. The Doctor watched her as she clasped her hand over her mouth. This was his favourite part.

'It's smaller on the outside! How did you do that?' It was different from what he usually heard, but then again, people didn't usually enter the Tardis without seeing the outside first.

'Let's go,' he said. He and River started walking, and Immy followed after taking one last look at the Tardis.

They were in the centre of Cardiff, and Immy said they'd have to walk for about half an hour. She led the way, going faster and faster as they walked on.

'See,' she said after a while as they turned right, 'this is my street! I told you it was here!'

Immy started walking even faster, taking longer strides, and soon she was a good 30 feet ahead of them.

'How do you think it happened?' River asked in a muffled tone, so Immy wouldn't hear her. 'How could she have appeared in the Tardis like that?'

'I have no idea. The Tardis is supposed to have shields and things to prevent this from happening. She came from within, somehow. I don't know.'

'Why can't the Tardis find her house?'

'Because it doesn't exist. She thinks she is walking to her house now, but I'm sure she won't find anything there. The Tardis would be able to find it if it was there. It must have disappeared, like the piano room.'

'Any theories?' River asked, looking up at him.

'I don't know. Somehow things around her seem to disappear. I don't know what causes it. And I really don't know how she could have entered the Tardis.'

Both of them looked at Immy, noticing that she had stopped walking.

'What's wrong?' River asked.

'My house… it's gone. It's suppose to be right there, at the end of the street.'

She pointed to the end of the close. There was a little park where the street ended.

'Your house is supposed to be at the end? In that little park?' River asked.

'The little park is supposed to be our garden. We live in an old church. You should be able to see it from here! Where did it go?' she asked the Doctor, as if she expected him to know the answer.

'You live in a church?' he asked, suddenly interested.

'Well, yeah, an old church. It wasn't being used as a church anymore and my parents decided to buy it. My dad has a thing for old stuff.'

'That's awesome, living in a church.'

'Where are my parents?' Immy asked in a small voice. 'What happened to them? They were home…'

'Let's go and look at the place where your house should be. Maybe we'll find something,' the Doctor said. Immy nodded, and they walked to the little park at the end of the street. They stood at the gate for a while, but the only thing they saw was grass and trees. There was no church there, not even a sign that there had ever been a church there. It was like it had never existed.

'Can we go back?' Immy asked after a long time. 'I'm cold.'

'Sure,' River said. 'Let's go back.'

When they got back to the Tardis, River took Immy to the kitchen for a cup of tea. They sat down at the kitchen table. 'Are you okay?' River asked. 'You look pale.'

'I don't know… It's just a bit much. I don't know where I am, I don't know what to do, I don't know where my parents are… What if I never get home?'

'Don't think like that,' River said in a reassuring tone. 'I promise you that we are going to get you home. Everything's going to be all right. Promise.'

Immy gave her a weak smile and took a sip of her tea.

'River!' came a voice from the control room. 'River? Could you help me?'

'I'll be right back.' She smiled and walked out of the kitchen. In the control room, she found the Doctor lying on his back under the console. 'What are you doing?' she asked.

'I'm trying to figure out how she could have ended up here. No luck so far.' He sat up and looked at her. 'Something must've gone wrong. I thought, maybe if we figured out what it was we could reverse it and we could get everything back the way it was. Wanna help?'

River shrugged. 'Okay,' she said, and lied down on the floor next to him.

They didn't find anything, and River gave up after a while. 'I promised Immy I'd be right back,' she said. 'She's probably bored out of her mind just sitting there waiting for me. If hasn't wandered off, that is.'

'She probably has,' the Doctor mumbled. 'They _always_ do.' But River didn't hear him.

When she reached the kitchen, she found that Immy had indeed wandered off. She sighed. It could take hours to find her, if not more. The Tardis was big and she might be completely lost. She walked down the hallway and started trying doors. The first door was a cupboard, and she wasn't there. She tried the second door on the right. It was their bedroom, or one of them at least. This was the one they used most often, because it was closest to the control room.

She opened the door, and to her surprise, she found Immy lying in their bed. She was curled up like a ball and had pulled the duvet up to her chin. She was lying on the right side of the bed, the side where River would normally sleep. River walked over to her and brushed a few strands of hair from her face. She smiled. The girl deserved a good night's sleep.


	4. Chapter 4

**Authors note: Hi there! I hope you're still enjoying reading my story. The next chapter has been a bit of a struggle for me, because I wasn't pleased with it the way it was so I've had to do quite a bit of rewriting. It was really really short as well. I tried to make it longer, but I can't really add too much because I don't want to change the structure of the entire story. Aaaanyway, here it is, chapter 4! Let me know if you like it! ;)**

**Eleanor**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who or any of its characters, settings or plots. **

4.

'Rose, do you want sugar in your tea?' Jackie called from the kitchen.

'No, thanks mum.' Her voice trembled. _Keep it together, Rose,_ she told herself sternly. She wished the Doctor were here. He offered to come, but she'd told him that she'd best be alone when she told her mother. For his own safety.

Her mother came back into the room, holding two steaming mugs of tea. She put them on the coffee table in front of the sofa and went back into the kitchen to get some biscuits. Rose sighed and looked at her hands. They were trembling.

She had no idea how to tell her. How would she react? She knew Jackie had been a young mother herself. Maybe she would understand. On the other hand, she had always told Rose to wait, to get a good job and a house first. To save some money and to get a steady relationship. She didn't have any of those things, except for the relationship.

Repeating the things her mother had warned her for in her mind had only made her more nervous. She felt like such a failure.

Her mother re-entered the room with the biscuits and offered Rose one. 'How are you, sweetheart?' she asked as she sat down opposite her. 'And the Doctor, how is he doing?'

'Great,' Rose answered flatly. 'We're doing fine.'

'Are you okay? You seem a bit distracted.' Jackie studied her face.

Rose couldn't hold it in any longer. She felt like the secret was going to explode out of her. 'Mum,' she said, her voice trembling again, 'I'm – I'm pregnant.' She didn't dare look Jackie in the eye, so she looked at her feet instead.

An eternity seemed to pass before Jackie answered. Rose peered at her through her blond locks. She looked completely baffled.

'You're… _pregnant?'_

Rose looked down again and nodded.

'Rose! What were you thinking? Didn't I tell you to be careful? Didn't I tell you to use protection?'

Rose remembered a very awkward conversation she'd once had, where her mother tried to show a thirteen-year old version of herself how to use a condom. She blinked her eyes fast and focused on her mother's face in an effort to get rid of the cringey vision.

'I – I thought we did…'

'Oh, and what does that mean? "I thought we did"?'

'I don't know, mum… We were… we'd had a bit too much to drink, maybe…'

'You were blind drunk, you mean! And when did this happen? How far along are you?'

'I'm three months alo–'

'THREE MONTHS? You're three months pregnant and you tell me _now? _The Doctor's only been here for three months! Who does he think he is? Thinks he can live here for only one week and go and knock up my daughter! I will have a conversation with him about this later!'

'Now, mum, please don't do tha–'

'Don't you "mum" me, young lady! All those times I warned you about being a young mother! All those times I told you how hard it was for me!'

'I'm sorry,' Rose whispered, 'I didn't mean for this to happen, neither of us did. I really did think we were using protection. Something must have gone wrong.' A blush crept up her cheeks, which were wet with silent tears.

Jackie seemed to calm down a bit and sat down next to Rose on the sofa. She placed a hand on her daughter's back.

'Come on, sweetheart, there's no point in crying about it. What's done is done and we can't do anything to change it… I suppose.' Rose's head snapped up and she glared at her mother. 'No, no, we can't do anything to change it,' she said quickly. 'We need to figure out how we are going to do this. You'll need to move, love. That tiny flat of yours is no place for a baby. And the Doctor will need to get a job. Babies are expensive. Your wages alone aren't going to cut it.'

'Yeah, we already talked about that,' Rose sniffed. 'He said he would take that offer from Torchwood. He declined a few weeks back but they said they'd always have a place for him, so…'

'And maybe he should think about getting a name.'

'What?' Rose looked puzzled. 'He's got a name! He's called the Doctor!'

'Yeah, but think about it! Do you want your kid to know his own father as "the Doctor"?'

Rose looked at her hands. 'Yeah… Maybe not.' She cleared her throat. 'He might go by John Smith. He's used that name before.'

Jackie took a sip from her tea. 'I'm sorry I yelled at you before. I just thought that you'd do it all differently. I had such a hard time when you were a little girl.'

'I know you did, mum, but you were alone. I've got the Doctor. We can do this, together. I know we can.'

Jackie smiled. 'You're right. I overreacted.'

'Are you excited about becoming a grandmother?'

Jackie stared at her. 'I hadn't even thought about that! Me, a grandmother! I'm only 42!'

'So, how was it?' the Doctor asked when Rose came home.

'She wasn't too happy about it,' she answered as she took off her coat. 'But she got used to the idea after a while. I think she might still be a bit cross with you, though.' She laughed.

'I should've come with you.' He shook his head while he stirred in the pot on the stove.

Rose went to stand behind him en wrapped her arms around his waist. 'No, I'd really have hated to raise this kid on my own. Seriously, she would have killed you!' She laughed again. 'What are you making?'

'French onion soup.'

'Hmm… sounds good. Smells good, too.'

'I'm glad you like it.'

Rose leaned her head on his shoulder. 'Aren't you sad that we can't have any adventures anymore?'

'What do you mean?'

'Well… there's no running around anymore, looking for aliens, solving mysteries… You just can't do that with a baby. And in a few months I won't be able to run at all!'

'But that doesn't mean we're not having an adventure!' He turned around, his back to the stove, and put his hands on her belly. 'This! This is our adventure! The biggest one yet!'

Rose laughed. 'You're right. The scariest one as well.'

The Doctor gave her a quick kiss and turned back to his onion soup, Rose still standing behind him. She wrapped her arms around his waist again.

'Have you thought about… maybe getting a name?'

'A name?'

'Yeah. I mean, you wouldn't want this kid to call you "Doctor", would you?'

'No, but I think I'd want him or her to call me "dad".'

'Yeah, but what if someone asks him what his dad is called and they tease him because he says "Doctor"?'

The Doctor was silent for a moment. 'Okay, I guess you're right.'

'So… John Smith, then?' Rose asked.

'Nice to meet you Rose Tyler!' He laughed.

Rose patted him on his shoulder and kissed his cheek. 'Thanks,' she said. She brought her lips to his ears and whispered: 'I will still call you the Doctor… when we're alone.'


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who or any of its characters, settings or plots. **

5.

Immy sleepily rolled over onto her side. She had had such a weird dream. She had dreamt that she'd suddenly appeared on a space ship, and that her house and her parents were gone. She shuddered, and pressed her face deeper into the pillows. She was so glad to be in her own bed.

But, hang on… it was different. It didn't smell like her bed smelled, it didn't feel like her bed felt… Her eyes flew open. Where was she? Was she still dreaming? She pinched herself. No. Definitely real. It hadn't been a dream at all.

Whose bed was this?

She shook her head, and the events of the previous day came back to her; how she had found herself in a space ship, how she had discovered that her house was gone. She had been so tired. She just wanted to sleep. She had curled up in the first bed she could find.

She quickly got up. She was still wearing the same clothes she had worn the day before; tights, a skirt, a t-shirt and a cardigan. They didn't feel clean anymore, and they were very wrinkled. She wondered if she could take a shower. She felt sweaty and disgusting.

She walked around the room, looking for a door that might lead to an en-suite. After having opened countless built-in cupboards she finally found the bathroom.

Immy felt much better after she'd taken a long shower. She grabbed a fluffy white towel and dried her hair and body. She looked at the heap of clothing she had left in the corner of the room, disgusted by the idea of having to wear the same underwear she had worn the day before. There was a silky floral dressing gown hanging on a hook next to the room. She put it on. Maybe she could ask the Doctor if she could wash her clothes somewhere.

She left the bedroom and found her way to the kitchen. She was greeted by the smell of breakfast being made before she even entered the kitchen. She could hear the Doctor and River talking through the kitchen door. She suddenly felt a bit ashamed. She had slept in their bed, used their bathroom, without even asking. She looked down at the beautiful floor-length dressing gown. She was even wearing their clothes. She hoped they wouldn't mind.

She sighed and pushed the kitchen door open.

'Good morning, Piano Girl!' the Doctor exclaimed. He was at the stove frying eggs. River was sitting at the kitchen table and drunk tea. 'Did you sleep well? I see you're wearing River's dressing gown… Hmm, you probably need some clothes, don't you? That's all right, I've got tons of them! River, would you mind showing her?'

'Not at all, sweetie.' River smiled. She walked over to Immy and took her hand.

'Let's go,' she said.

Immy let River lead her away, out of the kitchen, through countless hallways, doors, rooms and corridors. They finally reached a big room, with mirrors everywhere, and River stopped. 'This is where we keep the spare clothes. Women's clothes are on that side.' River pointed to one side of the room. Immy looked around and noticed that the mirrors were not just mirrors, but doors. She walked over to one of them and opened it. Behind every mirror was a closet filled with all kinds of clothes.

'Which ones can I use?' she asked, and turned round to face River.

'Take whatever you need. They don't really belong to anybody.'

'What do you mean, "they don't belong to anybody? How did they get here?'

'It's just clothing that people forgot or left behind for some reason. It just kind of accumulated over the years. I should warn you, there's some pretty weird stuff in here.' She winked and left Immy alone in the room.

'Is there any underwear as well?' Immy yelled after her.

'Left cupboard!'

Immy pulled the left mirror open and discovered a dozen shelves, all packed with a strange collection of underwear. Immy let her eyes wander over the garments. Some were completely out-dated and some looked very futuristic. Some were see-through and looked so skimpy that she felt ashamed just by looking at the, while others looked like something an elderly lady would wear.

Her eye fell on a pair of light pink cotton knickers that looked like they would fit her. She looked over her shoulder to see if she was alone and untied the dressing gown. It dropped to the floor and fell in a heap around her ankles. The knickers fit her like a glove. She found a matching light pink bra, which, quite surprisingly, fit as well.

Her own reflection stared at her from all the mirrors in the room. The cold gave her goosebumps, so she picked up the dressing gown and threw it over her shoulders again. She walked around the room and opened all the mirrors on the left side. She stared open-mouthed at the clothes they revealed. There were hundreds, maybe even thousands of garments, waiting to be worn. There were ball gowns from the eighteenth century, bathing suits from the sixties, space suits, wedding dresses, t-shirts in a variety of colours (some of which she had never seen before) and all sorts of pyjamas. She looked at the different articles of clothing, skipping the really weird ones, and trying some of them on. In the end, she settled for a blue and purple t-shirt with buttons and a pair of jeans.

She stayed in the room for a while, having fun trying on all the different hats that were in the cupboards and looking at the amazing Victorian dresses. However, she hadn't had any breakfast yet, and her stomach was starting to growl. She picked up the borrowed dressing gown from the floor and walked back to the kitchen.

Or at least, she tried to.

After having walked for ten minutes, she found herself completely lost inside the maze that was the Tardis. She looked around, and even though she felt like she and River had gone through this corridor, she knew they hadn't because she would've noticed the painting of a cat that was on the wall to her left. Everything looked the same and she couldn't remember which way she had come from. She sighed. She might as well just wait here. If she were gone long enough, someone would surely come looking for her.

She paced up and down the corridor for a while, but soon she started to get really bored, and very hungry as well. She opened the nearest door, looking for some distraction. There was a bedroom behind the door, and Immy stepped inside.

The bedroom wasn't very big, but it was cosy. There was a single bed pushed against the wall. One of the walls was painted a light shade of blue, and the rest were white. There wasn't much else in the room, except for a closet.

Immy walked over to the bed and sat down. She grabbed the pillow and put it against the wall so she could sit more comfortably. She looked around again, and suddenly saw a photograph. It was on the bed, where the pillow had just been. She took the photo in her hands and held it up so she could look at it.

It was a photo of her parents.

What was a photo of her parents doing here? How could a photo of her parents be hidden underneath a pillow, in a little bedroom on a _very_ weird spaceship? She frowned and shook her head. Something wasn't right here.

She studied the photograph more closely. It was an old photo. Her parents looked so much younger. She turned it around to see if there was a date on the back.

'May 2006,' she mumbled.

She looked at the picture again. Her parents smiled back at her. She decided to keep it. It was nice to have a photo of her parents while she felt so lost. Also, she might want to question the Doctor about it later. It seemed impossible that he would randomly have a photo of her parents. This couldn't be a coincidence.

Her head snapped up when she heard footsteps in the corridor. She quickly stuffed the photo in her pocket.

'Immy!' the Doctor yelled. 'Immy, where are you? Can you hear me? I brought you some breakfast!'

'I'm here!' she answered, and got up from the bed. The Doctor appeared in the doorway, holding a plate with toast and fried egg. She smiled at him, but he didn't smile back. She saw a shocked expression on his face as he dropped the plate he was holding.


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's note: Hi readers! I'm sorry it took so long for me to update this chapter. I did have a lot of fun writing it, though. I hope you'll like it as well. Please let me know what you think!**

**Eleanor**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who or any of its characters, settings or plots. **

6.

'I look like a whale.' Rose turned round and round in front of the mirror, examining her body from every angle.

John put his head round the open door of their bedroom. 'Of course you don't look like a whale. I've seen whales, they look completely different.' Rose shot him a cold look. '…But that's probably not what you meant.'

'I've got stretch marks!' Rose moaned. She lifted her t-shirt. 'Look! Stretch marks!'

'I can hardly see them.' John walked over to her and took her hands in his. 'Besides, haven't they developed some sort of cream for that yet? Isn't this universe supposed to be more technologically advanced?'

'Yeah, they have… But still! Stretch marks!' Rose pouted. John laughed at her expression.

Time had seemed to pass twice as fast. Rose and John had been busier than ever; looking for a new flat, finding affordable baby furniture and deciding on a name. They had found a flat when Rose was 28 months pregnant. It had three bedrooms and the lounge was light and big. It was perfect. They moved in, painted their bedroom and decorated the nursery. They had decided to keep the baby's sex a surprise, so they had kept the walls a neutral white.

'It's not so long anymore. A few more weeks…' John said in a comforting voice.

'I know, I know. Honestly, I can't wait. This is a ridiculous shape to be in. You have no idea. I can't see my own feet, let alone reach them!'

'Well, maybe that's for the best, because they seem to be a bit swollen.'

'Shut up,' Rose hissed.

'Come on, I'll massage them.' He walked out of their bedroom. Rose followed him into their lounge. He sat down on the sofa and turned the telly on. Rose sat down on the other end of the sofa and put her feet in his lap.

'There's never anything good on the telly on Sundays,' John said.

Rose nodded. 'I'm bored.'

'I hate Sundays. I used to skip Sundays. Now Saturdays! Saturdays are the best.'

'But we didn't do anything yesterday either. We did the exact same thing we're doing right now.'

'Yeah, but still…'

John massaged her feet for a while. They weren't _that _swollen, really. He had just been teasing her. But she often complained that they hurt, and he knew she loved it when he massaged them.

'I'm so hungry,' Rose said. 'Do we have any instant mash?'

'No… But we have potatoes. I could boil them and mash them for you?'

'What? No! That's not the same. I need instant mash. I need… I need… Whipped cream! But I don't think we have any, have we?'

'No. We do have custard, though.'

'Yes! Custard and…' Rose pulled her feet from his hands, got up from the sofa and opened the freezer. She rummaged through it for a few seconds. 'Fish fingers!'

'What?'

'Fish fingers and custard!' Delightedly, Rose started preparing the fish.

John got up from the sofa as well. 'Are you sure about this?' he asked tentatively.

'Yes! Do you want some?'

'Err, no thanks.'

'Okay, just fish fingers for me then,' Rose said, shutting the oven. 'Where's the custard?'

'I – I don't know,' John answered.

'Don't lie to me. Where is it?'

'It's in the fridge, but I don't think–'

Rose pushed him aside and pulled an opened carton of custard from the fridge. She poured it into a bowl. 'Hmm, custard. That looks so good.' She dipped her finger in it and put it in her mouth.

The phone rang. Rose, who was still busy eating custard with her fingers, gestured that John should answer it.

'Hello?'

The voice coming from the receiver was not hard to recognize. 'Is that my mum? Give her here.'

'Hang on, Jackie, I'll put her on.' John held the phone out to Rose. She held up her hands, showing him the sticky mess of custard on her fingers. She turned her ear towards him, and he pressed the phone to her ear.

'Mum?'

'Hi, sweetheart, I wanted to ask you if – What are you eating?'

'Custard.'

'Well, stop it. Sugar isn't good for you.'

'You don't know that!'

'Of course I do! It was on the telly yesterday!'

Rose put another finger of custard in her mouth. 'Something you wanted to ask me?'

'Yes. Did you want any of Tony's old baby clothes? I put them in boxes, and you can have them if you want. They're all in the attic.'

'Yeah, sure! If it's a boy.'

'Most of it could be worn by a little girl as well!'

'Err, yeah, sure Mum.' Rose didn't remember Tony wearing anything that she would want her daughter to wear. 'I gotta go, Mum, my fish fingers are almost ready.'

'Oh, Rose, get a grip. Cravings are just in your head.'

'Yeah? I remember you eating raw onions two years ago.'

'Onions are good for you!'

'I'm sure they are,' Rose laughed. 'I just don't think you're supposed to eat them like apples. See you, Mum.'

She watched as John took the fish fingers from the oven and put them on a plate. The two of them walked back to the sofa. Rose sat down next to him, and put the bowl of custard between them on the sofa. She took one of the fish fingers and dipped it in custard.

'That looks disgusting.'

'So good,' Rose answered, her mouth stuffed with fish and custard. She dipped another fish finger in custard and offered it to him.

'No way. I'm not eating that.'

'C'mon, try it. It's really good.'

'No.'

'You know you want to!' Rose held the fish finger closer to his face. John rolled his eyes and took a miniscule bite. He chewed slowly.

'Wow. That _is _quite good, actually.'

'I know!' She gave him the rest of the fish finger, and dipped a new one in custard for herself.

'Can I have another one?' John asked when he'd finished the first one.

'No. You said you didn't want any.'

'Well, then you shouldn't have made me eat them! Now I want them too!'

'NO!' Rose took all the remaining fish fingers in her hands and stuffed them in her mouth. John looked at her for a moment, not quite sure what to say. Then he burst out laughing.

Rose swallowed the fish fingers with some difficulty and stared coldly at him. He stopped laughing.

'O, come on!' he said. 'That was funny! That was funny and you know it, Rose Tyler.'

Rose stared at him for a few more seconds, and then laughed as well.

'I'm sorry,' she snorted. 'I really can't help myself.'

'I know, it's fine.' John smiled and took the empty plate from her lap. 'Did you want any more custard?' he asked, pointing at the half full bowl. Rose shook her head. The custard suddenly seemed revolting to her. John stacked the bowl onto the plate and put it on the coffee table.

He took one of her hands in his. 'Listen, I've been thinking… Since we're already having a baby together anyway, I thought maybe you'd like to get married, some day after the baby's born.'

Rose stared at him, her mouth slightly open.

'So?' John asked after a few seconds of silence. 'Do you – do you want to get married?'

'Hang on!' Rose blurted out. 'This is not how it works! I should be standing up. I should be standing up and you should get down on one knee!'

'Rose, you're almost nine months preg–'

'On one knee!' Rose commanded.

John sighed. 'Fine.' He got up from the sofa and kneeled on the floor. He took Rose's hand again.

'No, wait, I have to stand up!' Rose struggled to get up from the sofa. John got to his feet and helped her up before kneeling again.

Rose gave him her hand en smiled. She thought he'd smile as well, but instead, he frowned.

'What's wrong?' she asked.

To her utter surprise, he replied: 'Rose… Did you just pee on our sofa?'


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who or any of its characters, settings or plots. **

7.

The Doctor stared at the girl in the bedroom. He felt anger rise up in his chest. The girl wasn't supposed to be here. _Nobody _was supposed to be here.

And yet there she was, _even wearing her clothes, _looking all innocent and oblivious and happy to see him and somehow reminding him so much of _her._

Without really noticing, he let go of the plate he was holding. He heard it hit the ground, but he ignored it. He took a few steps forward and grabbed her by the shoulders.

'What are you doing here?' he said in a low voice, sounding even more dangerous than if he were yelling.

Immy flinched at his words, not understanding what was going on. She backed away, into the room. 'I was lost,' she whispered anxiously, 'I'm sorry, I couldn't help it, this place is so big and everything looks the same and I'm sorry!' She felt tears roll down her face, but she didn't wipe them away.

The Doctor ignored her tears. Had she pulled that t-shirt from the cupboard in this room? He was sure River wouldn't have taken her to this room to find clothes. 'Why are you wearing that?' the Doctor asked angrily, pointing at the t-shirt.

'I don't know,' she answered. She didn't know what she'd done wrong. 'It was in the big room with the mirrors. River said I could take anything…'

'This shouldn't have been there.'

'Should I – should I take it off? I could find another t-shirt.'

The Doctor sighed and closed his eyes. 'No, it's fine, leave it on. Come on, let's go.'

He turned around and stalked off. Immy quickly followed, picking up the plate on the way. She practically had to run to keep up with his long strides.

The Doctor knew he was being irrational. He knew Immy couldn't possibly know who had slept in that room, who had worn that t-shirt or why she reminded him so much of her.

The Doctor walked on through the Tardis. He heard Immy's footsteps behind him, but he didn't stop to let her catch up with him. He didn't want to talk. So they walked on in silence.

He had tried not to think about _her_ for a long time. It wasn't that he'd wanted to forget, he just didn't want to remember, not all the time. He had collected all of her possessions, everything that reminded him of her, and put them in her old bedroom. He had made the Tardis move the bedroom to the very back of the ship. It was safe there. Her memory was safe there.

He would sometimes go there, by himself. He would sit in the room and remember, but he didn't seem to be able to remember the happy memories. All he felt when he saw that room was guilt and grief and sorrow.

It wasn't just the room that had this effect on him. Everything that was somehow connected to her sparked that same emotion, and he couldn't even thing or say her name without instantly feeling sorrowful. When he saw Immy standing there, in that room, wearing those clothes, she suddenly looked so much like her. The blonde hair, the feminine curves, the wide smile; he couldn't help thinking her name. _Rose._

He entered the console room and sat down on the swing under the console. He hoped Immy wouldn't follow him. Maybe she'd go to the kitchen, to get some breakfast. He hoped she would. He wanted to be alone.

River would probably still be looking for her. He knew he should tell her that he'd found her, but he didn't. She would come back to the console room, and he just wanted to be alone for a while.

He closed his eyes. He knew it was unfair to be mad at her. Immy hadn't deserved that. He sighed. He should apologize.

He heard footsteps on the glass above his head. He looked up, and saw Immy looking down at him. She had a glass of orange juice in her hand.

'Can I come down there?' she asked.

The Doctor shrugged, and then nodded. Immy climbed down the stairs and sat down on the floor in front of him.

'I'm sorry,' she said. 'I'm sorry for being in that room.' She took a sip of orange juice.

'It's all right,' the Doctor sighed. 'You couldn't have known that you weren't supposed to be there. It wasn't fair, me being cross…'

'That's okay,' Immy said. 'I understand.'

The Doctor looked at her for a second. Did she understand? She was just a teenager. Could she know what heartbreak was?

'Immy, how old are you?'

'I'm seventeen.'

'Have you ever lost someone, Immy? Someone you loved, who meant a lot to you?'

'Immy shook her head. 'I don't think I have, sorry.'

'But that's not something to apologize for! That's something to be proud of, something to be grateful for! Because I have, Immy, I have lost a lot of people in my life. And the point is, the more you love someone, the more it hurts. Heartbreak is a kind of pain that you never really lose.'

Immy contemplated that for a while. 'Can I just ask… what is so special about that room?'

'There was a girl once. We were on this ship together, travelling. She used to sleep in that room.' The Doctor looked away. 'She's gone now.'

'I'm so sorry,' Immy said. 'I didn't know.'

'You couldn't have.'

They were silent for a while. Immy drank the last of her orange juice and put the glass on the floor.

'Is that your breakfast?' the Doctor asked.

'Yeah… Well, I had a piece of toast as well.'

'That's not a healthy breakfast!' the Doctor exclaimed. 'Not for a growing girl like you. Come on, I'll make you something. I'll make you… croissants! Do you like croissants?' Immy nodded.

'Of course you do! Everybody loves croissants!' The Doctor sprang up from the swing and ran up the stairs two steps at a time. Immy quickly followed. 'I'll tell you a secret, Immy,' the Doctor said as he entered the kitchen. 'There is very little in this world that can't be solved by a plate of warm croissants.' He started kneading dough and rolling it into shape. 'Warm croissants and, somehow, tiny little marshmallows. That's the secret to world peace.'

Immy laughed, but the Doctor looked at her very seriously. 'Pay attention, Immy! I'm sharing precious knowledge here.' He put the croissants in the oven

'Voilà!' the Doctor said as he handed her a plate of croissants. He sat down opposite her. The croissants seemed to be done faster than Immy thought was possible, but then again, hardly anything had seemed impossible these last two days. Anything except getting her back home to her parents. She suddenly remembered the picture of her parents in her pocket. How could she have forgotten about it?

Absentmindedly, she took a bite of one of the croissants. What would be the best way to ask the Doctor about the photo? Would he be angry that she'd taken something from that room?

'Well, this is disappointing,' the Doctor said. Her head snapped up. What did he mean? Could he read her mind? 'People always say that my croissants are delicious! Don't you like them?'

Immy looked down at the croissant in her hands. 'Yes. Yes, they're good.' She shook her head. That didn't sound sincere at all.

'Is there something on your mind, Immy?' the Doctor asked, genuinely interested now.

'No. Well, actually… yes. I found a photograph, when I was in that room this morning.'

The Doctor nodded. 'She left very suddenly. She left lots of things behind.'

'But… But this photo can't have been hers.'

'What do you mean?'

'It's a picture of my parents.' Immy put her croissant down. 'It's an old photo, but it's definitely my parents.'

The Doctor frowned. 'Did you take it from the room? Can you show it to me?'

Immy nodded, wiped her hands on her jeans and took the photo from her pocket. She handed it to the Doctor. He looked at it closely.

'I don't understand,' he said. 'How can this be your par–' His head suddenly snapped up. 'Unless…?'

'What?' Immy asked eagerly.

The Doctor turned the photo around. 'This is a picture of the girl and me. The girl in whose room you were this morning.'

'No, it's not. You're not in the picture at all.'

'Well, I am, actually. I had a different face back then. It's a bit complicated; I won't bore you with the details right now. But this is me. So this can't be your parents.'

'Yes, they are,' Immy said stubbornly. 'Look, this is my mum.' She pointed at the woman. 'Everyone always tells me how much we resemble each other.'

'I see,' the Doctor said, looking at the picture again. He seemed to be talking to himself now. He sprang to his feet. 'I see! You're their daughter! Why didn't you tell me before?' he asked loudly.

'You never asked!'


	8. Chapter 8

**Author's note: Hi there! I'm so sorry I made you wait this long for this chapter. I've been sooo busy! I've been studying in England the last few months and I only got back a few days ago! **

**Anyway, I hope you'll like this chapter. Let me know what you think!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who or any of its characters, settings or plots. **

8.

'W–what?' Rose stuttered. 'No. No, of course not. What are you talking about?'

'Look,' John said, and he pointed at the grey fabric of their sofa. Rose turned around. There was a dark spot where she had just been sitting.

'My waters must have gone,' she mumbled. She felt a bit dazed, not fully grasping what was going on. 'What do we do?' she asked. All the preparations, all the reading she had done, it all seemed meaningless and pointless now. She couldn't remember any of it and she didn't know what to do. She was going to have a baby.

She looked at John. He looked just as scared as her.

'Relax,' he said. 'Sit down. Let's call the midwife.'

'Hang on!' Rose exclaimed. 'You haven't asked me yet!'

'Rose, honestly, do you want to do this now?'

Rose crossed her arms. 'Yes.'

'Fine.' John pulled one of her hands free and took it in his. 'Rose Tyler, will you marry me?'

'Yes!' Rose squealed. She pulled John up and kissed him.

'Will you sit down now? We have to call the hospital.'

'Can you call them while I change my clothes? These are all wet.'

'Sure.'

Rose walked back to their bedroom. She could hear John's side of the conversation as she changed into a fresh pair of trousers.

'Rose, she asks if you're having any contractions yet,' John called from the lounge.

'I don't think so…' Rose called back.

'No, she's not having any yet,' she heard John answer the conversation. She walked back to the lounge in her clean jogging bottoms. 'Yes. Okay. No. Okay, we'll do that,' John said. 'Thank you, bye.'

Rose sat down on the sofa. 'What'd she say?'

'She said we could go to hospital as soon as your having contractions. If you're not yet having contractions in 24 hours, then we should call them and go to hospital anyway.'

Rose nodded. She hoped the delivery would be quick. A few months previously, she had not been able to contain her curiosity and had looked up some labour stories and videos. It had not been a very good idea. She had read the most awful stories about 2-day labours, horrible C-sections and terrifying injuries. The videos were even worse. As she thought about those videos again, she shuddered.

'What's wrong? You okay?' John asked worriedly.

'Yeah, I'm fine… just a bit scared. I don't know… it all seems to be happening so fast. What if there's something wrong with the baby? What if–' She was breathing fast now.

John sat down beside her on the sofa. He placed one of his hands on her cheek. 'Everything is going to be all right. It will be over before you know it, and when it is, you'll have a beautiful little baby in your arms. And if anything goes wrong, I'll be there for you. You know I will.'

Rose looked into his eyes for a long moment and felt a bit reassured. John kissed her on her cheek and stood up. 'Do you want a cup of tea?' he asked. Rose smiled and nodded. He always knew how to cheer her up.

An hour had passed since John had spoken to the midwife, and Rose still hadn't had any contractions. She was getting impatient. She wanted to meet her baby _now, _and she hated waiting for the dreaded pain.

John looked at her. 'You okay?'

Rose sighed. 'It's taking so long. I just want to get it over with.'

'I know it's a long wait, but it'll be worth it. You could take a nap?'

Rose shook her head. 'No, I'm not tired at all.'

'We could watch a movie?' John suggested.

Rose agreed and chose a movie. It was a lame chick-flick, but she was not in the mood for anything complicated right now. She just wanted a bit of distraction.

As they were watching, Rose could tell from his face how much John hated the film. She snickered. Even though she loved him and would never hurt him, it felt sort of good to know that he had to watch something he didn't like, while she had had to carry a child with her for nine months and was now waiting for painful contractions. She smiled her sweetest smile at him, and he smiled back, pretending not to hate the film.

Rose woke with a start. Her arms were curled around her belly. A bit disoriented, she looked to her right. The bright red numbers on the alarm told her it was 3:21 AM. On her other side, John was vast asleep. She tried to wake him gently. When that didn't work, she shook him a bit harder. He grunted, turned to his other side, and continued sleeping. She sat up and groaned. She was definitely having contractions now.

'John,' she said, placing a hand on his shoulder.

'Hmm?'

'You gotta wake up, I'm having contractions.'

'Whut?' he turned to her. She could see him drowsily blinking his eyes in the moonlight shining through the window

'I'm having contractions,' she repeated. She was surprised at how calm she was.

John's eyes widened as he realised what she'd said. 'You're having contractions? Are you sure? How far are they apart? Have you packed a bag yet? Where- Where is my shirt?' He stumbled out of bed, looking for clothing and her bag and the light switch. She calmly watched him, quite enjoying the scene. He finally found the light switch and turned on the light. She could clearly see him now, a bewildered look on his face and two mismatched socks in his hands. She snorted. 'Let's just go,' she said.

She swung her legs over the edge of the bed, and John hurried to her side, still only halfway dressed. He helped her up, carried her bag (which, of course, she had packed about a month ago) and helped her into the car. The contractions were getting more and more painful, and even thought she tried to pretend they weren't bothering her that much, she saw him look her way in concern each time she had one.

At last they arrived at the hospital. They were brought to a delivery suite and John helped Rose onto the bed.

The labour seemed endless. Four hours had passed, and she still wasn't dilated enough to start pushing. The contractions had gotten worse. Every time one came, she squashed his hand and bit the pillow.

When finally she was dilated enough, she was allowed to push. Luckily, time spent pushing seemed to pass much faster than time spent waiting in agony. It was much more painful, though, and Rose felt like she was going to rip apart. Or maybe she did. She couldn't see over her round abdomen.

'Almost there!' the midwife kept saying, and Rose started feeling desperate. She wasn't going to be able to do this for much longer. She was exhausted. She looked to her side, at John.

'Come on, you can do this,' he encouraged her. 'I know you can. Deep breath… You can do this.'

'The head's out!' the midwife exclaimed. 'Just one more push, I promise!'

Rose gritted her teeth and gave every last bit of energy she had. She heard the midwife cheer excitedly, but she couldn't understand what she was saying. She listened harder, and suddenly she heard soft whimpers. A few seconds later they heard loud cries.

Time seemed to stop. Rose grabbed John's hand and looked at him. _They had a baby. _It seemed so impossible, and yet so natural.

'I'm so proud of you,' John whispered.

They looked away from each other as the midwife lifted the baby. 'It's a girl!' she said, and she placed her in Rose's arms. She was covered in blood and goo, but Rose couldn't care less. She looked into her daughter's big brown eyes, and felt tears roll down her cheeks. 'Hello,' she cooed. 'Aren't you a little drama queen?'

The baby stopped crying as Rose spoke, and they stared at each other in wonder.

'Would the dad like to cut the cord?' the midwife asked.

'Yes,' John said. The midwife helped him cut the cord, and when Rose and the baby where separated, one of the nurses came to take the baby away. She needed to be washed and clothed.

After what seemed and eternity, the nurse brought their daughter back. She was wearing the little striped pyjamas she had bought with her mum and there was a pink wool cap on her head. Rose held her in her arms, unable to look away. John sat next to her on the edge of her bed. They sat in silence for a while, admiring their little miracle. One of the nurses came to help with the breastfeeding, and then she left again to give them some privacy.

When Rose was done feeding her, she gave her to John. He walked around the room, softly rocking her and singing a lullaby Rose had never heard before. He gave her back to Rose when she was sleeping.

After a while, one of the nurses came back with a form. 'What are you going to call your daughter?' she asked.

They both looked up, and John answered with the name they had decided upon about a month earlier.

'Imogen.'

Looking at her new-born baby, Rose whispered: 'Our little Immy.'


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who or any of its characters, settings or plots. **

9.

The Doctor was lying on his back, staring at his bedroom ceiling. He wasn't tired at all, but River had dragged him to bed like she always did, saying things like _everybody needs sleep _and _I'm not sleeping in that bed alone._ Now he was just lying there, wide awake, listening to River's slow breaths.

He let his head roll sideways and looked at her. She was lying on her side, her back towards him, her head resting on his upper arm. He touched the back of her neck with his index finger and absentmindedly started tracing patterns.

It had been a long day. Now that he knew where Immy had come from, the task to take her back home, which had seemed hard at first, seemed downright impossible. He couldn't go to the alternate universe again. The walls had closed.

He rolled onto his side and stared at the circles his fingers traced on River's bare shoulder. Maybe he could send Immy back the way she had come: through the Tardis. Only he hadn't figured out how that had happened yet, and he wouldn't be able to reverse it if he didn't know how it had happened in the first place.

His arm was starting to feel numb from the weight of River's head, and her hair was tickling his face. He tried to wiggle his arm free without waking her. It didn't work. He lifted her head with his other hand and pulled his arm from under her head. Then he let her head fall to the pillow.

River turned around. 'What are you doing?' she hissed. 'Can't you just lay still?'

'My arm was going numb!' he complained. 'And your hair was in my face.'

'And you can't just use words to ask me to move over, instead of throwing me around?'

'I thought you were asleep.'

'Well, I'm certainly not now.' The two of them stared at the ceiling in irritated silence for a while. The Doctor hadn't yet told River who Immy's parents were, and he wasn't sure he wanted to. He didn't often talk about his former companions to River. Not that he was keeping them secret from her; he'd answered every question she'd asked. He just didn't like talking about it.

On the other hand, River knew almost as much about the Tardis as he did. He had no idea how to get Immy back, and he could use all the help he could get.

'River, listen,' he said. River rolled onto her side so she could look at him. He extended his arm to her, and she took back her place on his upper arm. 'Today Immy found an old photograph. It was in that bedroom, the one that never gets used.' He took the photo from under his pillow with his free hand. He had told Immy he needed it, which wasn't strictly speaking true. He'd just wanted to have it. He turned on the light and handed the picture to River.

She looked at it for a while. 'That's you and… Rose?'

The Doctor nodded. He'd never shown River a picture of Rose before, but he'd described her when she'd asked him to.

'Immy looks exactly like her,' River whispered.

'Do you think so?' the Doctor mumbled. He took the picture back in his hands. It bothered him a little that River noticed the resemblance so easily when it had taken him so long. 'Immy told me this was a photograph of her parents.'

'But that's a photo of you and Rose…' River trailed off. Then she suddenly propped herself up on one arm and looked at him. 'Oh, tell me you didn't!'

'Tell you I didn't what?'

'Tell me you didn't knock her up! Tell me you didn't knock Rose up!'

'I didn't!' the Doctor hastily exclaimed. 'Honestly, I didn't. I told you about the clone, didn't I? The one that grew from my hand? Well… I guess he must be her father.'

'But – but doesn't that mean she from the alternate universe? You said you left him and Rose in an alternate universe.'

'Yeah, see, that's the problem. Going to an alternate universe will destroy the Tardis. The walls have closed. It would help if I knew how she got here…'

They stayed silent for a while, trying to think of ways to reunite Immy with her parents, but neither of them could come up with anything.

The Doctor got up, deciding to spend an hour or so trying to figure out what happened when Immy appeared on the Tardis. He got dressed and left their room.

He passed the door to Immy's room. He had given her a bedroom opposite theirs the previous day. She'd asked to sleep in Rose's old room, but he didn't want her to. He'd told her it'd be inconvenient, the room being so far away from the console room, but it had been an excuse. The Tardis would have been able to move the room anywhere he wanted, but he didn't tell her that.

As he passed her room, he heard rummaging inside. He stopped and knocked.

'Immy? Are you up?'

'Yeah, hang on.'

The Doctor heard more rummaging, and then footsteps approached the door. Immy appeared, wearing a dressing gown over her pyjamas.

'Morning,' she said.

'Good morning, Immy!' the Doctor greeted her. 'Would you like some breakfast?'

'Yeah… Let me get dressed, I'll be right there.'

'Omelette?' the Doctor asked.

'Err – yeah, sure. Thanks,' Immy mumbled just before she closed the door.

The Doctor walked on towards the kitchen and started going through the cabinets. He was supposed to have eggs… somewhere. And spatulas… frying pans...

River came in, closely followed by Immy.

'Are you making tea?'

'Yes, River, hang on, I promised Immy to make her an omelette.'

'You don't have to if it's inconvenient,' she offered.

'No, no, it's fine… Could you crack three eggs?' The Doctor tossed Immy the carton of eggs he'd just found. 'There's a mixing bowl over there. Where's the teapot? River?'

'I don't know! Wherever you left it, probably.'

'Well, go and find it!' the Doctor exclaimed, still trying to find a pan. River sighed exasperatedly and left the kitchen.

Immy cracked the eggs and put the bowl on the counter. She looked at the Doctor. He stopped rummaging through the cabinets. He knew what she was going to ask, but he wasn't sure how he was going to answer her question.

'You never told me – you never explained…' she began. She stopped for a moment, and started again. 'Why did you say it was you in the picture with my mum?'

The Doctor looked at the open cabinet in front of him. He hadn't explained anything about the picture to Immy. It wasn't that he didn't want her to know; it was just that he wasn't sure how to tell her. He didn't want her to think of her father as a _clone _or a _copy._

'I think I should tell you a bit more about me first,' he said slowly. He spotted a frying pan partially hidden behind some books and a mismatched set of knitting needles, and started pulling it free. 'There's this thing I do, when my body gets damaged or worn out or old… I'm not human, you see. I look like one, but I'm not from Earth, and I don't die. I can change my body when it can't live on. It's called regeneration. It means I get a whole new face, a whole new body.' He finally managed to pull the frying pan from the cabinet and put it on the stove. He turned to Immy.

'I met Rose – I met your mother in 2005. I looked different back then, even different from the man you saw in that photo. We travelled for a few years, and I regenerated once during that period. And then there was an… an accident. She ended up in another dimension, in a parallel universe. She was trapped there. But she found her way to me, somehow, a few years later, and then a lot of… stuff happened, and this man came into existence. It's difficult to explain. He was exactly like me, except for his more human physiology. I brought both of them back to the other universe, and I think he's your father.'

She looked at him, obviously unsure of what to say. The Doctor decided to give her a minute to think about what he'd just told her. He grabbed the bowl of eggs, whisked them quickly and tipped them into the frying pan.

'Well, I found it,' River's voice came from behind them.

'What?' the Doctor asked distractedly.

'The teapot. And the next time you decide to drink tea in the sauna, please invite me.'

'Oh, right,' he answered lamely. He'd completely forgotten about the teapot. He turned back to the stove and flipped the omelette.

'But… Can't you just bring me back to that other universe? If that's where I'm from?' Immy asked.

'I'm sorry, we can't,' River answered before the Doctor could say anything. She put a hand on her shoulder. 'It's not as simple as that.'

'The walls of the universes have closed,' the Doctor answered. 'Travel between universes used to be possible, but not anymore. It's not safe. It could put everything in danger.'

'So… So… Now what?'

'We're doing our best,' River said. 'Don't be scared. It's going to be fine.'

The Doctor slid the omelette onto a plate and put it aside. He turned to Immy.

'Immy, listen to me. I will do everything in my power to get you home. I promise. I will get you home.'


	10. Chapter 10

**Author's note: Hi there! A (relatively) quick update today! I hope you'll like this chapter, because I had a lot of fun writing it. Let me know!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who or any of its characters, settings or plots. **

10.

John still couldn't grasp what had happened. They had been sitting at the kitchen table, having a nice cup of tea. It had been a very ordinary day, a boring day even. One moment, she had been there. The next she was gone.

John looked at his wife, who was sitting in the old wing back chair in the corner of the living room. She stared out the window, not really seeing anything at all, and she didn't look up when he said her name.

'Rose,' he tried again. She turned her head slightly. Not enough to look at him, but enough to show him she was listening. 'Do you want to eat something? I can set the table. We could all have lunch together?'

Rose shook her head. 'I'm not hungry.' She went back to staring out the window.

John sighed. She wasn't taking care of herself, and she wouldn't let him help her. She had been going on like this for a week. John was starting to get desperate.

They had tried everything, _everything,_ to get their eldest daughter back, but it had been hopeless. They had no idea where she'd gone. She seemed to have vanished off the face of the Earth, which, as they both knew, was quite easily within the realm of possibilities. But how do you search an entire planet, an entire solar system, an entire universe?

They had asked Torchwood and UNIT of course, but when nothing had worked, Rose had become depressed. She sat in that old wing back chair day in, day out, and looked out the window to see if her daughter would come home.

* * *

'Daddy?'

John looked up from the book he was reading. It was a sunny afternoon, and it was his turn to watch Immy. The day was far too nice to be spent inside their apartment, so he'd taken her to a nearby park.

'Yes, sweetie, what is it?'

'When I grow up, I wanna be as tall as the sky.' She lifted one of her dolls up towards the sun to illustrate what she meant.

'And why is that?' John asked, genuinely interested now.

'So I can clear away all the clouds and the sun will always shine.'

John smiled as Immy continued playing. Every time he looked at his daughter, he realised how phenomenally _happy_ he was. More than he could ever have imagined. The last four years had been the best years of his life. He, Rose and their little girl. He was sure it was meant to be.

Of course, like any child, Immy sometimes threw a tantrum, didn't always eat her vegetables and could wake her parents up at 5 am on Sunday mornings. But he and Rose could never have been happier about their little 'accident' in the end. They had decided not to have any more children, however, or at least not for the next few years. They wanted to move out of their two-bedroom apartment first. They'd love a house with a garden for Immy to play in…

Raindrops woke him from his reverie. He looked up to the sky. Grey clouds had darkened the sky, and little drops had started to fall down.

'Too bad you're not tall yet,' he said to Immy. 'Or you could've made those ugly clouds disappear. Let's go home.'

She gathered her toys, and put her little hand in his as they walked home.

* * *

'You listen to me, young lady!' John heard Rose shout upstairs. He smiled smugly. He was glad it wasn't his turn to tuck her in.

Lately, Immy didn't want to go to bed anymore. She would hide, cry, scream, kick, run and do everything in her power to stay up, or to sleep in the big bed with them. They didn't know what had caused it. It had started so suddenly. She had always been such a sweet child.

He heard Immy crying loudly, and Rose telling her to lie down. They had been living in their new house for a few weeks when she had suddenly begun doing this. John didn't understand why. The house was perfect for them. Immy seemed happy here. They had a garden now, and two extra bedrooms upstairs. The first few weeks, everything had been fine; she had gone to bed at her usual time, and had fallen asleep almost as soon as her head hit the pillow.

Then, suddenly, she had started asking to stay up longer. She came to their bed in the middle of the night, and she would come downstairs countless times before finally falling asleep. More often than not, they would have to sit with her and wait until she was finally dreaming, or they would let her fall asleep on the sofa and carry her to bed.

It was becoming a serious problem. They had tried to ask her why she didn't want to sleep, but the subject wouldn't usually arise before bedtime, and by then, she was too hysterical to be able to answer.

Rose entered the living room. 'I got her in bed at last,' she sighed. 'Had to leave the lights on, though.'

'Well, if it stops her coming down again…'

'Let's hope so.' She sat down on the sofa, next to him, and lied down sideways, with her head on his lap. 'I don't understand why she acts like this,' Rose mumbled. 'What is she afraid of?

'I don't know,' John answered. He softly pulled his fingers through Rose's hair. They watched the telly in silence for a while, but it wasn't long before the dreaded moment came; they heard little feet on the stairs and a few moments later the living room door opened. They couldn't see her immediately, but she spoke as soon as she opened the door, afraid that they might send her back upstairs before she'd have had a change to explain herself.

'Muuuuuum,' she began. They could hear she'd been crying. 'I don't – I don't – I don't want to sleeeeeep,' she hiccupped. Rose sat up, sighing.

'I'll go,' John said quickly. He took Immy's hand and led her through the door. She began crying dramatically and held on to the doorframe, trying to resist. When that didn't work, she let herself fall to the floor and tried to wriggle her hand free from his. This didn't work either, though; John easily picked her up and carried her up the stairs. She tried everything she could to free herself, but he had a tight hold on her. They had reached her bed now, and she started screaming even more hysterically.

Instead of trying to get her to lie down, John sat down on the bed, Immy on his lap, his arms around her. She pressed her face to his chest, and he rocked back and forth a bit, hoping it would calm her down. Her cries grew quieter and less frantic, and after ten minutes, she was only crying silently. John looked down at her. He could see she was very tired, though she obviously did her best to fight it.

'Imogen?' he asked. 'Why don't you want to go to sleep?'

Immy started crying again, though not as fiercely as before. She stopped again after a few minutes.

'Immy, please tell me. I'm your dad, I can help you,' he tried again.

Immy was hiccupping and breathing shakily, but then, to his surprise, she started speaking.

'At night there's noises,' she said quietly. 'The house makes noises.'

'Oh, sweetie, that's just the house settling!' John said, almost laughing with the relief of finding out what was wrong.

Immy wrapped her arms around his neck and cried into his shirt. 'No, it's not,' she wailed. 'There are monsters. They want to eat me!'

'Of course not, sweetheart. Monsters don't exist. Well… Usually they're just misunderstood aliens, but–' He stopped abruptly and cleared his throat. 'What you hear is the wind blowing around the house. You couldn't hear that in our old apartment, but that's all right. It's just the wind.'

'It's always so dark outside,' she whimpered. 'I can see monsters walking around the house.'

'There are no monsters, love,' John reassured her. 'And even if there were, they will never get inside the house. Mum and I lock the doors and windows every night.' He hugged her tighter to his chest. 'There's nothing you have to be afraid of. I will always protect you.' He leaned back a bit and looked at his daughter's face. Her eyes were closed. 'Are you sleeping?' She shook her head. 'But it's about time you were,' he mumbled. He stood up from the bed, tucked her in and kissed her forehead.

'Do you want me to leave the lights on?' he asked as he walked away from her bed. She didn't answer anymore. He smiled, and switched them off.

* * *

'We've got a surprise for you!' Rose exclaimed. She and John had just come back from a doctor's appointment.

'Really?' Immy asked excitedly.

'In about six months, you'll have a little brother or sister!'

'Oh…'

'Aren't you happy about that?' John asked.

Immy shrugged. 'I dunno,' she said. 'I remember Miss Elsie having a baby two years ago. She showed her at school once. It didn't look like much fun. She was just sort of lying there.'

'But this will be different!' Rose said. 'This is your little brother or sister. Someone to play with!'

Immy shook her head. 'They aren't any fun to play with until they're at least three, and by then, I'll be fourteen.'

'Imogen, I promise you'll love having a little brother or sister.'

Immy shrugged again and turned around. 'It's probably going to cry all the time,' she mumbled as she stalked off.

* * *

_Clang!_

Immy looked at them in shock, clearly not aware of the fact that she had just dropped her fork.

'Again?' she asked them, unable to believe what they'd told her.

'Yeah,' Rose answered casually. 'Twins, too.'

'But – but – Sam's not even one year old yet!' She pointed at her little brother in his high chair.

'We're aware of that,' John answered dryly while Rose wiped some mashed carrots from the toddler's chin.

Immy huffed and walked off to her room. Rose grinned at John. 'Told you,' she said.

'Oh, she'll lighten up.'

'I know. She did the first time, anyway.' She fed Sam another spoonful of mashed carrots and cooed: 'Your big sister loves you, doesn't she?'

* * *

'You said we were going to look at a house.'

'We are. Here it is.'

'This is not a house. This is a church.'

'Yeah!' John beamed. 'And it's for sale! Don't you love it? You gotta think of the possibilities!'

Immy giggled. 'All right, I'll give it a chance.'

She followed her parents inside, and looked up in awe. At the other end of the enormous room was a magnificent organ.

'Can I play it? Please?'

She saw her father's face lit up in excitement for a moment, but then he shot a look at his wife. He cleared his throat. 'Better not, maybe.'

'But daaaad,' she pleaded, 'we're not just going to let it gather dust, are we?'

'But sweetheart, you don't even know how to play,' Rose interjected.

'I'll make you a deal,' John said. 'If we buy this house, you can practice on… this!' He sprinted towards one of the walls and pulled a dusty piece of velvet from an old upright piano. 'And if you get the hang of it, you can play the organ. If it still works, that is.'

She looked at her mum, who in turn looked at John with an expression of love and amusement. She smiled.

'Deal.'

* * *

John and Rose were sitting at the kitchen table, having a cup of tea. They sat in silence, listening to Immy playing the piano in the other room. When they had renovated the church, there was room in between the kitchen and the living room with which they could not decide what to do. Immy had asked if she could put the old piano there, and they had agreed.

Immy had picked up playing the piano very quickly. They could almost hear her improving every day. John and Rose had allowed her to play the organ, which was now in the great open space near the staircase, but she had stopped after a few tries, saying she actually preferred the piano.

The song in the background flowed to an end, and a new one started. John smiled at Rose. They both knew this song; it was one of Immy's favourites. Rose took another sip of tea and closed her eyes.

Suddenly, the music stopped. Well, that was an understatement. The music hadn't just stopped: it had quite literally disappeared. There wasn't even a lingering harmony or an echo. There was just total silence.

Puzzled, Rose looked up. Her eyes met John's. This was strange. Immy wouldn't normally stop playing halfway through a song, especially not this one.

'Immy?' Rose called. 'Immy, you alright?'

There was no reply.

Rose got up. 'Imogen?' She walked to the door that led to the piano room and opened it. She looked inside, shrieked, and closed it quickly.

'What is it?' John asked. He walked over to her and opened the door as well.

He could not believe what he was seeing. Or maybe he didn't want to believe. The whole room was gone. Or actually, it wasn't. The room itself was still there, the walls, the windows… but the interior had gone: all of the furniture had vanished, the wooden floor was gone, even the paint wasn't on the walls anymore. He stared at the completely empty room, at the concrete floor and the bare brick walls… there was no trace of his daughter.

Shock washed over his face, and he turned sideways to look at Rose, seeing his expression mirrored on hers. He took a few steps forward and looked around, trying to see where she could possibly have gone. A silly, nonsensical voice in his head said that this was a trick, that this was some sort of prank and Immy was hiding in the garden, but he knew that couldn't possibly have happened. Nobody could strip an entire room of its interior in mere seconds.

He looked at his wife in horror, and then they both ran to the door on the other side of the room. Their younger children were playing in the living room. Had they all disappeared?

John stormed through the door, closely followed by Rose. The little girls looked up, but Sam paid no attention to his parents, his eyes trained on the television.

Rose let out a shaky breath. John extended his hand out towards her, but she crouched down and gave the twins a kiss on the top of their heads.

She rose to her feet again and took John's hand. 'Come on,' she said. 'We gotta find her.'

They walked back to the piano room, and froze when they entered it. Everything had returned to its place. The floor, the paint, the curtains, the furniture… everything except their daughter.

* * *

'Rose, please eat something,' John tried again. 'Or don't, if you don't want to, but please get off that chair.' Rose didn't react. 'Rose,' John repeated, louder now. 'Rose, she's my daughter too, but you don't see me moping all day, do you? We've got more kids, Rose, who need their parents! And I can't do it all alone! They need you. I need you!'

Rose didn't say anything. She didn't move. He didn't even know whether she'd heard him.


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who or any of its characters, settings or plots. **

11.

'Dad? Dad! I'm so glad to see you!' Immy wanted to run to him, to hug him, to jump into his arms like she used to when she was little, but she knew she couldn't. He was just an image, like she was to him. She felt like crying, and she blinked fast so her vision wouldn't get blurry.

'Immy!' her father said, completely stunned. 'Immy, where are you?' He turned around and called: 'Rose! Rose, come quickly!'

'I've missed you so much,' Immy stuttered, drawing his attention back to her.

'I have to get your mother,' he said, and he took a step and the opposite direction.

'Can't you just call her?'

'She won't come.'

'But, dad… I only have a few minutes. Don't go.' She was crying now.

'I know, I'll be back in a second.' The image of her father disappeared. Immy could hear her own quick, shallow breaths. They seemed to resonate through her mind, much louder than normal. What was taking her father so long? The Doctor had explained that it took a lot of power to make a connection like this to another universe, and that the connection might break at any moment, and would certainly not last any longer than a few minutes.

She listened intently. She could hear her father's voice, but she didn't hear her mother's. Why was it taking so long?

'Mum!' she called. 'Mum!' she screamed even louder now, sobs leaking through her voice. She couldn't hear anything anymore, and was terrified the connection had broken.

Then she suddenly heard movement. Footsteps came closer, and her mother appeared in the spot where her dad had just been standing. She didn't look good at all; her hair was a mess, her skin was pale and she had bags under her eyes. Tears rolled down her cheeks.

'Imogen,' she whispered. They both stretched their hands out towards each other, but they couldn't touch.

'Mum, this call won't last long,' Immy said quickly. 'I'm trapped in another dimension. He says you can and get me, mum, with a cannon or something. You've got to come and get me.'

'Who says that?'

'That bloke, the Doctor he calls himself, but that's not the point, Mum–'

'You're with the Doctor?' Immy wondered why she looked so shocked.

'Please–' Immy began, but suddenly her parents disappeared. She stared at the empty spot for a few seconds, and then she pressed her hands to her face and started crying quietly.

The Doctor sat cross-legged on the floor with his back to the console, and listened to Immy talk to her mother. To Rose. He didn't know how he felt about it. He hadn't heard her voice for such a long time, but now that he heard her, it didn't sound the same to him. Was it because she had been worried about her daughter? Was it because she'd grown older? He didn't know. He only knew that the voice that he'd remembered all those years had been different. Not flat and tired, but full of life.

He tried to focus on what she was saying. _You're with the Doctor? _Het felt strange as she said his name. He missed her, but for the first time he noticed that he didn't miss her the same way he had missed her when he'd just lost her. He missed her like she was a little sister, or a best friend.

He frowned. When had his love for her changed? He couldn't remember suddenly not being in love with her anymore.

He heard footsteps, and River took his hand. 'Come on,' she said under her breath. She led him away, but he didn't pay attention to where they were going. He just followed her, trying to make sense of the thoughts and emotions going through his mind.

He sat down in a comfy armchair and looked around. They seemed to have ended up in one of the smaller sitting rooms. River sat down, a glass of wine in her hand.

'Where did you get that?' he started, but then he shook his mind. 'Never mind. Isn't it a bit early for wine?'

'It's probably lunchtime somewhere… You know, I think the Tardis has a few different time zones scattered around, but I don't know how that works…' River contemplated. 'You want one?' she asked, holding up her glass.

The Doctor wrinkled his nose. He didn't like wine, and he wasn't in the mood for anything to drink anyway.

'You all right?' River asked seriously.

He shrugged. 'I don't know.' He looked at River again, but she looked away. Was she… hurt? Jealous? 'What about you?' he asked. She shrugged as well, still not looking at him.

'This is very confusing for me!' he complained.

'What is?'

'All of it! You not telling me what's wrong, of course, but seeing Rose as well. I don't know how I feel about it. It's – its – upsetting… unsettling… I don't know.'

'Do you… Do you still love her?' she asked. Her gaze met his.

'I don't know. I don't think so, not really. You know what it's like, regenerating. I remember loving her, but I'm not _in love _with her. And it doesn't mean I love you any less.'

River shrugged again.

'Could you stop shrugging?' he exclaimed. 'It's _not _an adequate answer for any of my questions! It doesn't help either of us!'

River let out an agitated sigh and turned back to him. 'I haven't regenerated since I was a girl, and I don't have any regenerations left, so no; I _don't _know what it's like. I _don't _know what you mean.'

The Doctor sighed and let his head fall into his hands. 'I'm sorry, River. You are my wife. I love you, and I don't feel that way about anyone else. But you have to understand that I still have a lot of affection for Rose. I loved her, but that was a different version of me. My hearts, _these hearts_,' he straightened up and pointed at his chest, 'haven't felt that way about Rose, not ever. These hearts belong only to you.'

She looked a bit mollified, but didn't say anything. The Doctor stood up. 'I – I think I need to be alone for a while. I'm sorry.' He walked out of the room and turned right, into one of the corridors. He had no idea where he was going; he just knew he wanted to walk for a while.

'Doctor?'

He stopped. For how long had he been walking? He'd lost track of time. He heard footsteps behind him, and he looked over his shoulder. Immy hurried towards him. She didn't look as upset as she'd looked after she'd spoken to her parents, but he could still tell she'd been crying. He didn't mention it.

'Immy!' he greeted her. He smiled at her. He didn't know why, because he wasn't exactly in the mood to smile. But he just couldn't help it.

'Hi,' she said a bit breathless. She came to a halt when she reached him. 'I'm so glad I found you. I can't find the way back.'

'Can't you just go back the same way you came?'

'I don't remember. I just wanted to walk, to clear my mind, and I didn't pay attention to where I was going.'

'Really? Because I did the exact same thing.'

Immy laughed. 'But you do know where you are, don't you?'

'Well, as a matter of fact…' He looked around, trying to figure out where he was. 'I don't. Hmm, this is new.'

Immy looked at him in apprehension. 'Do you mean we're lost?'

'Yeah!' the Doctor replied enthusiastically. He smiled wider.

'But – but – how are we going to get back?'

'Oh, don't worry. We'll turn up somewhere, probably. You don't have to be scared. Getting lost is just a surprise adventure!'


	12. Chapter 12

**Hi readers! I'm sorry I made you wait so long for this chapter. I've just been super busy (yes, a lame excuse, I know). The next chapter will probably be the last, but I haven't written any of it yet, so you might have to wait a while for that one as well. I hope you'll enjoy this chapter! Let me know if you do ;)**

**Eleanor**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who or any of its characters, settings or plots. **

12.

The two of them stared at the spot where their daughter had just been standing. John looked to his side, at Rose, who seemed completely lost for words. Without thinking, he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her into a hug. She pressed her face to his shoulder and started to cry. Although he didn't like to hear her cry, obviously, he was glad she did. She had woken up from her zombie-like state and was finally facing her emotions. She had a way to get her daughter back now, and she wasn't going to give up until she had succeeded.

'It will take me back to the right universe, because it has already taken me there once. It knows the way.' Rose smiled.

'And then he will take both of you back through the cracks the canon made?'

'That's the plan.'

'It's dangerous,' John whispered.

'You're not worried about that, are you?' Rose asked gently. She put her hand on his cheek. 'You know a little danger is not going to stop me.'

John pressed his lips together and decided to change the subject.

'How are you going to find her when you've reached the other universe?'

'Yeah, I thought about that. I figured I still have the Tardis' phone number from when I travelled with you. Assuming she's in there, and he hasn't– and the number's not changed, I can just call her. Right?'

'Yeah, I guess so…'

Time seemed to speed up until the moment she was gone. John sat down in the kitchen, his head in his hand. He shouldn't have let her go. He should have stopped her. He should have gone himself. Why hadn't he gone himself?

What if she never came back? What if his other self would seduce her with trips to far away planets or the Middle Ages? Would he? He'd like to think that he wouldn't, but to be quite honest, he wasn't completely sure.

Had he just lost both his daughter and his wife?

He straightened up and shook his head decisively. He might not be sure about _him,_ but he had complete faith in Rose. They had a life together, and she would never, _never _abandon her children.

He heard little feet enter the kitchen, and saw Sarah and Sadie shyly peer at him. He smiled and opened his arms. They sprinted towards him and climbed onto his lap, both sitting sideways on one of his legs.

'Where's mummy?' Sadie asked.

'Mummy's gone to get your sister. She'll be back soon,' he said while stroking her hair. 'But I'm still here.'

'I'm hungry,' Sarah interrupted him.

'Well, let's make you something to eat then, shall we?' He looked at his watch, noticing that it was already past lunchtime.

The strange sensation of materializing in another universe flowed through Rose's body. She gasped short quick breaths and turned around on the spot, trying to make sense of the bright sunlight and the grey buildings. She was a bit disoriented, not having felt this sensation in a long time. She didn't dislike it, though. It was a very comforting feeling to her, a feeling of hope and finding your loved ones.

Her eyes started to get used to the bright light and she recognized where she was. The Powell Estate. She smiled. How very appropriate.

She pulled her phone from her pocket, her heart beating fast. With trembling hands she dialled the number and pressed the phone to her ear.

She hadn't felt this nervous in quite some time. She was going to hear his voice again. She knew it wasn't going to be the same voice. Immy wouldn't have called him "that bloke" if he looked exactly like her father, so obviously, he'd regenerated. Rose breathed deeply, trying to think what she was going to say.

'Hello?'

A woman? A woman's voice? Rose didn't know what to say. Had the Doctor regenerated into a woman? She knew it was possible, but she just hadn't thought of it. She shook her head. No. The number had probably changed. The number that used to belong to the Tardis now probably belonged to this woman.

'Hello?' the voice said again.

Rose contemplated hanging up, but she didn't have any other way of finding the Doctor. 'Hi,' she answered. 'I'm looking for the Doctor?'

There was a short pause. 'Who is this? Where did you get this number?' the woman asked a bit louder.

'I'm Rose. Rose Tyler. The Doctor gave me this number. Can I speak to him please?'

'I'm sorry, he's busy,' the voice answered. 'Can I take a message?'

Rose frowned. 'Sorry, but can I just ask who this is?'

The woman cleared her throat. 'Your message?'

Rose sighed. 'Tell him I'm in London, at the Powell Estate.'

'I'll tell him,' the woman said, and immediately hung up.

Rose looked at her phone in surprise. She had imagined this to happen a bit differently. But then again, she wasn't here to find the Doctor. Not really. She was here to find her daughter, and take her back home.

But still, who was this woman? She must be his new companion, Rose thought, but she didn't sound nice at all. Rose scoffed. She had expected better from him.

She walked over to a bench on the other side of the playground. She sat down and stared ahead. One tragic day, the Doctor tried to catch a ghost there. She smiled sadly.

She sat on the bench for a few minutes, looking around at the slight changes that had been made to the place she had spent her childhood. Some trees weren't there anymore, and some had been planted since she last saw the estate. A lady walked by. Rose remembered her, she used to live one floor down. She saw that she had aged a lot. She started to get a bit worried. What if someone recognized her? She was supposed to be dead in this universe.

She turned her gaze to the ground and bowed her head. She'd best not attract any attention. Maybe she ought to–

A familiar sound interrupted her musing. Her head snapped up, and she saw the blue box slowly take shape on the other side of the playground. She sprang up from her bench, impatiently waiting for the Tardis to become solid. When it finally did, the door swung open, but no one appeared.

Rose took a few hesitant steps towards it. She walked faster and faster, and sprinted the last few yards to the blue doors. She took a big leap through them, and came to a halt inside the console room.

Again, she felt a bit disoriented. The console room had changed, and she didn't see Immy anywhere. She had forgotten how big it was, and there were a lot of stairs going up and down where didn't use to be any.

'Mum!' someone squealed.

Rose turned on the spot. She saw a flash of blond hair, and felt two arms around her neck before she really registered her daughter running towards her. She put her arms around her waist and hugged her tightly. Immy mumbled something, but Rose couldn't understand her muffled words.

They held on to each other for a while, but then Rose took a step back and put her hands on Immy's shoulders.

'Are you all right? Have you been eating? Taking care of yourself?'

Immy rolled her eyes. 'Yes, Mum, I'm fine.'

Rose squeezed her shoulders, smiled and then dropped her hands to her sides. A soft cough interrupted the silence. Rose turned around, and looked at the man standing on the other side of the room. She had never seen him before, but she recognized him instantly. She didn't know exactly what it was, but she could see it was him, even though his entire appearance had changed. She took a few steps towards him.

'Hi,' she said lamely. It wasn't the way she would have greeted him when they were still together, but she wasn't sure how to do this properly. If there was any way to do it properly.

'Hi,' he replied.

'You have changed.'

'You haven't.'

'You know that's not true.' Rose smiled.

'I didn't – I didn't mean physically.' As he said that, it was as if he was standing before her again; the Doctor as she had known him. The man her husband used to look like, before he aged 16 years. She couldn't help smiling, and took the last few steps that separated them. She hesitated for the shortest of moments before she gave him a tight hug. She was surprised by how normal it felt. It wasn't romantic or weird, it was just two friends greeting each other after a long time.

'Thank you for keeping my daughter safe,' she murmured. She let go of him. 'But just tell me: did you kidnap her?'

'I did not!' the Doctor answered, looking very affronted. 'I didn't even know she was you daughter.'

'Oh, come on!' Rose laughed. 'Have you actually looked at her? She looks just like me! Well, a younger version of me. Which is the only version you know, come to think of it! You really should have recognized her.' Rose crossed her arms.

'I just didn't, okay?' He looked a bit sheepish. 'She looks a bit old to be your daughter anyway, doesn't she?'

Rose blushed, but didn't answer his question. 'Let's get going,' she said. 'I want to be home in time for tea.'

The Doctor looked a bit taken aback by her sudden desire to leave. He'd hoped to be able to talk to her for a bit longer. 'Already?' he asked a bit hesitantly.

Rose smiled wryly. 'Yes, I'm sorry. I've got a family at home, and they're probably all worrying about Immy and me. You can take us home now, can't you?' The Doctor nodded. 'Why don't you come to our house when we get there? You can meet my other children.'

'You've got more?'

Rose laughed. 'Yeah, I've got three more at home. A boy and two girls. Twins.'

'Right. Yes. Sure,' The Doctor said, walking around the console and pressing buttons. He cleared his throat. 'Let's get the two of you home. Could you – could you turn that lever over there in the middle?'

'This one?' Rose asked as she walked over to the console. The Doctor nodded. 'By the way,' she said as she took hold of the lever, 'who was that woman answering the phone?'

'Oh, that… That's River. She's my… She's my wife.'


End file.
